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Click links to jump down to:
Food Safety for Assisted Living Programs
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Senior Health Insurance Information Program
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New Medicare Tools for Personalized Information
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Alzheimer's
Disease Demonstration Grant to States (ADDGS) |
Senior
Transportation |
Driving and Diabetes
Education Programs
| End-of-Life
Coalition |
Older Driver's Forum
Other Resources
Living,
Health, & Education
The Department of Elder
Affairs is actively engaged in ensuring high quality of life for
older Iowans. Living, health, and education are important parts
of this mission, and DEA and its partners provide many important
programs and services in these areas.
Living
& Health Programs
- Food Safety for Assisted Living
Programs - Older adults are more vulnerable to food borne
illnesses. Iowa State University and the Department of Elder
Affairs have developed tools to help evaluate assisted living
facilities in their role for protecting food safety and the
health of their tenants. Check out: "Looking
at Assisted Living Facilities: Think About Food Safety"
and "Food
Safety Considerations when Choosing Assisted Living Facilities"
for more information.
Nutrition
& Dietary-
Nutrition is a highly important issue for older Iowans. A wide
variety of issues, such as poor oral health, lack of physical
mobility, and loss of the senses of taste and smell can all
contribute to poor nutrition in older people. In recognition
of the importance of this issue, DEA shares a nutritionist position
with the Iowa Department of Public Health. Follow the link above
to visit DEA's nutrition resources page.
- Case
Management Program for the Frail Elderly (CMPFE)-
CMPFE is
the state's program designed to prevent premature institutionalization
of frail older people. Operated in all of Iowa's 99 counties
by the state's Area Agencies on Aging, CMPFE serves Iowans age
60 and over. For more information, follow the link above. The
page also includes information on the Elderly Waiver Program.
- Iowa
Family Caregiver- Family
caregivers are a vital link in the care of chronically ill,
disabled, or aged loved ones. Often, family caregivers devote
large portions of their time to the care of their loved one.
The Iowa Family Caregiver Program is part of a national initiative
aimed at allowing caregivers the time off from providing care
that they need. Follow the link above for more information on
the Iowa Family Caregiver program.
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- Senior
Health Insurance Information Program-
The Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) helps
older Iowans find answers to questions about Medicare, Medicare
supplement insurance, Medicare+Choice, long term care insurance,
and other health insurance issues. The program is administered
through the Insurance Division of the Iowa Department of Commerce.
SHIIP is an unbiased information source that offers information
and confidential counseling at no charge to older Iowans. For
SHIIP services call 1-800-351-4664 or e-mail: shiip@comm6.state.ia.us.
For more information and publications, visit SHIIP's website
located at: www.shiip.state.ia.us.
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- New Medicare Tool for Personalized
Information Medicare is now offering Iowans a way
to access personalized information about their Medicare benefits
and services. A new Internet tool, My.Medicare.gov
offers eight services to help people make better health care
choices and keep track of their Medicare information. Information
you can access includes:
Health care claims—Under “My Claims” you can
review your most recent Medicare claims. You can also
select a month of service, up to six months past, and review
your claims. Copies of Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs),
the official Medicare claims statement, can be ordered from
this page.
Preventive services information—“My Preventive Services”
lists the preventive services covered by Medicare, the last
date you received this service and the next date you are eligible
to receive the preventive service under Medicare.
Part B deductible status—The home page for this web site
includes a report on the amount of Part B deductible you’ve
met for the year and the amount remaining to be met.
Eligibility information—Another section of the home page
shows which Medicare benefits you are enrolled in (Part A and
B) and their effective dates.
Prescription drug (Part D) enrollment information—“My
Enrollment” page explains your enrollment status in Medicare
plans, including drug plans. It will also link you to
information about plans if you are not currently enrolled.
Address on record with Medicare—The “My Profile”
page shows your current address on record with Medicare and
a link is provided to change your address .
Order a replacement Medicare card—If you’ve lost
your Medicare Card “My Profile” page also offers
a link to request a replacement card.
Online forms and publications—Links to Medicare forms
and publications can be found.
To use My Medicare, you need to register as a user. Go
to http://My.Medicare.gov
and click on Need to Register. Enter your Medicare
number from your Medicare card and complete the information
requested. You will receive your password by mail in about
14 days. You can then use your password to access your
personal account at My Medicare. You will also be able
to select a password of your choosing once you access your personal
account.
If you would like help registering on My Medicare or do not
have a computer to access the web site, your local SHIIP site
can help. SHIIP counselors can help you register and later
help you access your personal account if you choose. To find
the SHIIP site nearest you call 1-800-351-4664 (TTY 1-800-735-2942)
or go to www.shiip.state.ia.us and selecting “Local Sites.” SHIIP services
are free, confidential and objective.
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- Alzheimer's
Disease Demonstration Grant to States (ADDGS) -
The Department of Elder Affairs in collaboration with three
of Iowa's Area Agencies on Aging (Heritage, Siouxland and Area
14) is the recipient of a $325,000 twelve month grant from the
federal Administration on Aging to provide: consumer directed
services to persons' with Alzheimer's Disease and related disorders
to rural and minority seniors; increased skill sets of direct
care workers, caregivers and professionals about Alzheimer's
disease and related dementias diagnosis; what home and community
based services are available and access to information through
Iowa's Aging and Disability Resource Center; and increased access
of legal services and substitute decision making to adults experiencing
dementia and their caregivers. For more information, contact
Terry Hornbuckle at (515) 725-3336 or terry.hornbuckle@iowa.gov.
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- Senior
Transportation -
The Department of Elder Affairs is a member of the Statewide
Transportation Coordination Council. The purpose of the council
is to review information and policies related to the coordination
of transit providers statewide and to make recommendations for
related transit coordination policy issues.
The National Center on Senior Transportation (NCST) web site
at www.seniortransportation.net
offers extensive resources toward the advancement of transportation
options for older adults who wish to live more independently
within their communities. The web site includes information
and resources for the public, including announcements, facts
and tips, publications, special events, opportunities of others,
as well as technical assistance for the aging and human service
community, transit providers, and older adults and caregivers.
NCST is a partnership of Easter Seals Inc. and the National
Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Additional team members
include the Community Transportation Association of America,
the National Association of State Units on Aging, the American
Society on Aging and the Beverly Foundation. A national steering
committee helps to guide the center's work.
Several publications relating to older drivers have been developed
by Iowa Department of Transportation. A description of each
of these publications and the link to the document are listed
below:
- Driving Retirement, Planning and Making it Work:
The two sections of this booklet are designed to assist
families in planning safe transportation options - 1) Drivers
and their families - planning for change and 2) Public transit
- remaining mobile. http://www.iamvd.com/ods/drivingretirement.pdf
- Driving With Diminished Skills: Because
driving is a complex task, drivers need to be sure they
have the mental and physical capacity for driving safely
as they experience changes due to aging. This booklet includes
information about driving with normal aging changes and
driving with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. http://www.iamvd.com/ods/diminishedskills.pdf
- Older Drivers and Risk: We as Americans
- and especially as Iowans - value the independence of getting
around in our own vehicles and staying connected with our
families and communities. Freedom of mobility shapes our
quality of life. How we deal with changes in our driving
ability and eventually choose when and how to retire from
driving will affect our safety and our quality of life.
This booklet explores key facts about safety and risks for
older drivers. http://www.iamvd.com/ods/olderdrivers.pdf
- Driver's License Renewal in Iowa: "Our
goal is to provide the kind of service that encourages drivers
to let us help them make safe driving decisions. We don't
want people to be afraid when they come into our driver's
license stations. We will take the time to listen and work
with older drivers on options that may allow them to continue
to drive safely. Taking someone's license away is the very
last thing we want to do." Kim Snook, Office of Driver's
Services, Iowa DOT. This booklet explains the renewal process
including the vision screening, medical requirements, driving
tests and also includes the Iowa Driver's License Station
addresses and hours of operation. http://www.iamvd.com/ods/dlrenewal.pdf
- A Practical Guide for Senior Drivers: This
book will help you refresh your knowledge of safe driving
rules and practices. Your workbook includes questions on
Iowa law, rules for safe driving, and the meaning of signs.http://www.iamvd.com/ods/senior.pdf
For
more information on senior transportation, contact your
local Area Agency on Aging
or Nicki Stajcar at (515) 725-3320 or Nicki.Stajcar@iowa.gov.
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-
Driving
and Diabetes - Driving
is a complex skill. The ability to drive safely can be affected
by changes in physical, emotional and mental conditions. The
American Diabetes Association and the U.S. Department of Transportation
have developed a brochure to give you information on driving
when you have diabetes. Take a look at the brochure and obtain
additional information at this web site. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/olddrive/diabetes%20web/index.html#Anchor-40100
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Education
Programs
- End-of-Life
Coalition-
In America, discussions about death and dying as a natural part
of the life cycle are becoming more open than in the past. Learning
and making choices before a crisis occurs helps to assure that
life concludes according to a person's individual wishes, offering
greater peace of mind for the person and his or her family.
The Iowa Department of Elder Affairs is an active partner in
the public-private End-of-Life Coalition, whose mission is to
promote careful reflection, extensive discussion and proactive,
informed decision-making on end-of-life decisions. The coalition
also desires and works toward stimulating dynamic community
partnerships with respect to end-of-life issues. To accomplish
its mission, the End-of-Life Care Coalition offers a short course
designed for adult study groups, grantwriting assistance, and
a speaker's bureau to help educate Iowans on a vast array of
end-of-life issues. Grantwriting assistance can be found at:
http://www.hospiceofcentraliowa.org/eolcc.
To obtain additional information on end-of-life issues, contact
Nicki Stajcar at (515) 725-3320 or Nicki.Stajcar@iowa.gov.
- Older
Driver's Forum-
The Department of Elder Affairs belongs to the Older Drivers
Task Force, which is sponsored by the Safety Management System
of the Iowa Department of Transportation. The Task Force sponsored
an Older Driver's forum in 2002. This forum discussed ways to
help older Iowans make safe mobility decisions. The focus of
this initiative is to:
- Sustain
safe mobility in Iowa Drivers with appropriate assessments
and decision options for licensed drivers
- Accommodate
older drivers with roadway enhancements that help with driving
capacity changes occurring with aging.
For more information on driving resources for older people,
consult the Guide
for Senior Drivers [PDF Format] on the Iowa Department
of Transportation website. Also, you will find several other
driving-related links in the Related
Links section on this website.
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Other Resources
For additional
resources on Health & Living, consult the following sections
on our related links page:
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